Amazon Spring Sale: I swear by this £24 mini VPN router

Today’s best travel router deal

Despite the tiny size, it runs OpenWrt and offers features normally found in much larger networking hardware.

Inside is 128MB RAM and 16MB flash storage, which is plenty for a compact travel router. It supports Wi-Fi 4 with speeds up to 300Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, perfect for everyday browsing, messaging, and streaming when on the road.

One of the best features is the built-in OpenVPN client. It works with more than 30 VPN providers, letting you secure your connection quickly without needing complicated software setups on each device.

Instead of connecting every phone, laptop, and tablet to a hotel’s public Wi-Fi, you connect them to the Mango router. The router handles the VPN connection and creates a private network for everything you bring along.

It also works as a Wi-Fi repeater, bridge, and range extender. That flexibility is a lifesaver when you encounter a hotel signal that barely reaches your room or you need to convert a wired Ethernet connection into wireless access.

Two Ethernet ports add flexibility for wired devices or for sharing a network connection. USB power makes setup easy, since it can run from a power bank, laptop USB port, or wall adapter.

The router even includes UART and GPIO pins for hardware projects if you like experimenting with DIY networking gear. Open-source firmware makes it easy to customise behaviour or add new features.

For travellers who want reliable connectivity, stronger privacy, and a portable network hub, the GL.iNet Mango is a surprisingly capable little device, and I can personally say it’s one of the most useful travel tech tools I’ve carried.